1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the area of the further processing of pre-products (in particular printed products within the framework of the finishing process). It concerns a method for assembling a stack or a collection consisting of single-layered or multi-layered pre-products that lie freely one on top of the other as claimed in the preamble of claim 1. It also concerns compositions of such pre-products generated as claimed in said method as claimed in the preamble of claim 27 and an applicator as claimed in the preamble of claim 41.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Nowadays advertising means in the form of pre-products, such as brochures, flyers, catalogues, handouts, direct-mail advertising, but also product samples, CDs etc. are increasingly distributed directly by special services. In this case, advertising means from various suppliers are frequently combined and distributed together in order to keep the distributing costs down. The advertising means or pre-products distributed together then form a stack of (individual) separate copies which lie freely one on top of the other and have to be put together by hand by the distributor in each case at the site of the delivery. This type of composition, however, is time-consuming and susceptible to errors such that either certain advertising means are included several times in the formed stacks or are omitted completely.
The term stacks refers here, in principle, to compositions of pre-products which lie one on top of the other and are held together by the force of gravity. If the pre-products are aligned in another spatial orientation, for example lying vertically side by side, they are referred to here as a collection. The invention relates to such different types of compositions of pre-products.
However, it is also conceivable for the stacks consisting of pre-products to be formed at a central location and then supplied for distribution. In this case, during distribution the pre-products can easily slip inside the stack or the stacks can become mixed up if no specific measures are taken to hold the individual stacks together and to define them in relation to one another.
Thus it is possible, for example, to provide the formed stack consisting of advertising means or pre-products with a welded foil wrapping to hold the stack together and to define it in relation to other stacks. Such additional packaging of the stack simplifies the distribution considerably, however causes relevant additional expenditure and, where applicable, is unwanted from an ecological viewpoint. Over and above this, the welded foil bags can only be opened by the final consumer in a laborious manner and the overall impression is not particularly aesthetic depending on the material.
However, the stacks can also be strapped or bundled in another manner, for example by means of a covering. Thus, it would be possible, for example, to combine the stack of pre-products with a wrapper as is known, for example, from document CH 461 248. In this respect, however, to a great extent the same disadvantages as mentioned above are produced.
In addition, it is known from document EP 0 666 186 A1 to insert pre-products into a folded newspaper which then functions as a covering for the inserted pre-products and is subsequently closed by means of one or several adhesive strips (see also WO 2007/067325 A2). To this end, either the preparation of a newspaper is necessary or the preparation of a separate covering which, in turn, increases expenditure considerably.
Finally, it is known (U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,176) to separate individual part stacks of sheets from other part stacks in a larger overall stack by placing non-adhesive paper strips (columns 1, lines 58-62) as separating strips around an edge of the respective part stack. This is to prevent displacement of the separating strips, which otherwise are placed flatly between two part stacks. Said type of non-connecting separating strips is only suitable for the separation inside the overall stack as the separating strips immediately fall off if a part stack is conveyed as it is or is handled individually in any other manner.